Hurricane Hocevar is back in town. The Spire Motorsports driver’s raw speed is undeniable, but his fierce intensity often alienates fellow drivers, birthing hot words and fiery collisions. “I had to be aggressive and make some drivers uncomfortable,” he had admitted after the showcase at Atlanta, unafraid of ruffling some feathers. However, this may have some future implications for the young Driver. Because now, even NASCAR royalty is weighing in.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., the veteran who paralleled Hocevar’s racing style to his father’s, Dale Earnhardt, the Intimidator, is now issuing a cautionary note. Carson Hocevar’s on-track theatrics could wind up hurting his chances of landing a coveted seat with one of NASCAR’s premier teams and powerhouses.

Dale Jr. reminds Hocevar against “pissing off” a Chevrolet to prevent hampering future prospects

At Watkins Glen, Carson showcased both skill and tenacity, climbing from 29th on the grid to finish 18th, a solid recovery on a technical road course. Along the way, he navigated through slower traffic with calculated passes, resulting in his best mile and a half or road course cup finish this season. Though not a headline-grabbing result, his ability to climb nearly a dozen spots on a demanding track underlines his progress behind the wheel.

However, tensions erupted during qualifying when Carson believed RFK Driver Brad Keselowski had blocked his hot lap. In response, Carson loaded deliberately during his cooldown lap, right in front of Brad, who was on a flying lap. The veteran reacted swiftly, sprinting across pit road in anger to confront Carson face-to-face. Cameras captured the impassioned exchange, with officials stepping in to separate the two before things escalated further. Keselowski later brushed off the conflict, saying simply, “I am over it. We raced today.” But things didn’t end here.

On Sunday, the tension with Michael McDowell boiled over on the track. McDowell made contact in Turn 1 deep in the final stage, spinning Carson while he was running 17th. Hocevar fought back and, despite no caution, battled MacDowell to finish, securing P18 over P19, and wound up dooring him right after the checkered flag. After reviewing all of this, Dale Jr. deems it important to send out a message or rather a warning, to the youngster.

Speaking on his DJD, Junior didn’t shy away from giving his honest feedback and warning. He said, “I am entertained by Hocevar until it becomes my problem. This week it was your problem, and you don’t like it and I get it. And that goes back to the same thing… I think it’s all fine until he does something that irks a Hendrick or somebody that’s directly above his chain of command.”

Despite the volatility, whispers swirl about Carson potentially joining Hendrick Motorsports, possibly replacing Alex Bowman. This chatter gained fuel when Chad Knaus was seen congratulating Hocevar post-race. Hocevar himself stirred speculation with subtle remarks about outrunning Hendrick cars, though nothing has been confirmed. Whether his aggression will be tolerated in a Hendrick seat still remains the big question.

Dale Jr. went on to say, “I think you know if he goes out there and impeded the lap for Larson, right? And you know, the big man gets upset because the big man has some influence over Spire… the big man has influence over most things Chevrolet.” Just then, TJ Majors contributed: “You piss off a Ford or Toyota, it doesn’t have the same effect.”

So far, Carson has avoided direct conflict with Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Earnhardt Jr. hinted that a collision there could force someone like Rick Hendrick, or another high-level figure, to step in and rein him in. To date, those fiery tangents haven’t spilled over into that sphere, but it remains a critical threshold.

Junior added, “When you start messing with what his program’s doing or what he’s trying to accomplish, that’s when the vice gets a little tight and Carson will feel that. But until that happens… he’s not going to make the adjustments ’cause he doesn’t feel like he needs to. Not going to change.” Watkins Glen seemed to be where Carson Hocevar received a lot of heat from Brad Keselowski post-race; however, that seems to be sorted. Carson is yet to speak to his teammate, Michael McDowell, and the No. 77 driver has made his stance clear on it.

Carson Hocevar believes that his run-in with his Spire teammate “wasn’t such a big deal.”

Carson Hocevar made headlines again after making contact with Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell, this time after the checkered flag at Watkins Glen. The move appeared to be payback for an earlier incident where McDonald’s put him out. When speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Carson didn’t sound eager to smooth things over. He mentioned McDowell had suggested catching up to discuss the incident, but they haven’t had that conversation yet.

In a video interview shared by Toby Christie, Hocevar said, “No, we hadn’t talked or whatever. He (McDowell) wanted to sit down at Richmond. I’m gone racing, and he’s gone as well. Maybe it’s best-case scenario that we’re both gone. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me—either he made a mistake or misjudged, and obviously turned me. Then we were just fighting for the last lap and last corner and felt like that was plenty of OK to do considering the contact, right? I can play defense for one corner to try to get the spot.”

Earlier in the race, Carson’s day took a hit when Michael McDowell made contact on lap 52, sending him spinning while running 17th. However, Carson justified the late race contact by pointing to the importance of track position ahead of the next event.“I think Richmond being the next week with qualifying draw being so important, that one spot I think matters a lot for qualifying, especially for how tough that place is to pass, but also super easy to go a lap down at that place…Michael wanted to sit down and talk about it a little bit of just how we can move forward, and just help each other and next time to avoid that.”

With tempers still cooling and Richmond looming, the ball is in Hocevar’s court. Whether he accepts McDowell’s olive branch or lets the tension linger could set the tone for how Spire Motorsports’ season unfolds.